Boxmaking machine



Juiy 21, 1953 w. F. LINSTEDT BOXMAKING MACHINE l2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 22, 1946 iiwi ed i I will tam Fl:

July 21, 1953 w. F. LINSTEDT BOXMAKING MACHINE 12 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledAug. 22, 1946 fivr'zfar am I'Izins e -%/r July 21, 1953 w. F; LINSTEDTBOXMAKING mcmma Filed Aug. 22, 1946 12 Sheets-Sheet .3

July 21, 1953 w. F. LINSTEDT 2,645,984

' BomAKINs MACHINE,

Filed Aug. 22, 1946 v 12 Sheets-Sheet 4 I fnvenl or'kZflz'i'liamfizlnaedf July 21, 1953 w. F. LINSTEDT 2,645,934

BOXMAKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 22, 1946 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 July 21, 1953 w,F. LINSTEDT BOXMAKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 22, 1946 12 Sheets-Sheet 6 y1953 w. F. LINSTEDT 2,645,984

BOXMAKING MACHINE fnvenz or' Linsfe d'i July 21, 1953 w. F. LlN STEDTBOXMAKING MACHINE l2 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed Aug. 22, 1946 wall-Q51 fiuiszaz July 21, 1953 w. F. LINSTEDT 2,645,984

BOXMAKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 22-, 1946 12 Sheets-Sheet 1o 2&2; 13 14 77- 14' 5 fru/eni or'" 4647 z'amFl: ima ed B Z I MM Patented July 21,1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE I BOXMAKING MACHINE WilliamF.'Linstedt, Plymouth," WisI, assignor to Kraft Foods Company, Chicago,llL, a corporation of Delaware Application August 22, 1946, Serial No.692 27 1 prises a'bottom (or top) wall, opposite side and opposite endwalls, the side walls being folded inwardly over the bottom wall andtheend walls being folded outwardly and refolded upon them-' selves as anincident to the inward folding of the side walls. Theprefabricated sidewall member consists of an elongated paper board strip provided withsuitablefold lines to facilitate its being folded into tubular box wallforming condition. The side wallelement is preferably ofmuch'heavierpaper board than the tray.

The apparatus herein shown receives stacks ofthe collapsed trays andstacks of the side wall forming units, opens thetrays and forms the sidewall units into'tubular wall structures and insert the latter into theopened trays.-

The main objects 'of the invention are to pro vide an eflicientmechanism for opening suchtrays, forming the side wall units intotubular structures, and for inserting the-tubular wall structures intothe opened trays, wherein such mechanism will operate automatically, andcan. be relied upon to continuepits automaticopera tion without'theconstant attention of. ansop -v erator. In short, it is the main objectof this. invention to provide a more eflicient. machine of,

the character indicatedthan has heretoforebeen, available.

ing specification and accompanying drawings wherein there isillustrated, a, machine embodying a selected form of the. invention,

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a sideelevation; V

Fig. 2 is a vertical section ontheline 2 2 of;

Fig. 1; a

, Fig. 3 is a plan of a portion of the apparatus{ Fig. 4 is a plan'ofanother portion ofthe apparatus; I 1 i Fig. 5 is a vertical section onthe-line 5-5 of Fig. 3; i

Fig. 6 is a section on th e'line e t of'Fig." 1,

the location of this section being also represented Fig. is a plansectionon the line 10- -10 10f Fig. 9;

7 Claims. c1. 93-39) Fig. .11. i a section corresponding to a portionof.Fig..5rbut showing'a changed position of certainof the parts;

.Figz12 is a section on the line l2-l2 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 13 is a "section corresponding to Fig. 12

butshowing the p'artsina changed position in which they also'appear inFig. 11;

Fig. 14 is a section on the line l4l4 of Fig. 11; Fig. 15 isa sectionalview illustrating certain parts of themechanism shown in Fig. 1 but on alarger scale, some of these parts being also shown in Fig. 6.;

Fig. 16 is a diagrammatic illustration;

Fig. "17 is a section on the line l'l-l1 of Fig. 1;

Fig. .18 is. a'perspective illustrating a typical collapsed tray whichis opened or distended and into which :the side wall structure isinserted; and -w Figs. 19 to 22,- inclusive, are perspectiveillustrations of successive steps of operation on the trayand sidewallstructures as affected by the machine. The apparatus receives collapsedpaper board trays of the charactershown in Fig. 18, such trays G whilein inverted position are unfolded to the v fopened or, distended.condition illustrated in Other objects and advantages of the invention,I will be understood by reference to the fO11QW-.

embodying a bottom (ortop) wall I of generally rectangular form, sidewalls 22 folded inwardly over the bottom wall, and end walls 3--3 whichare foldedoutwardly from the ends of the boting of the side walls 2-2and provide'a fixed, hinged connectionbetween the side and end walls.Trays suchv as shown in Fig. 1-8 and designated "T in their entireties,are delivered in inverted positionas represented in Fig. 19 to amagazine formingpart of the apparatus. I By successive operating.elementsof the mechanism, the trays Fig. 20

Side'wa1l formingunits which are initially in the'form of. elongatedpaperboard strips are,

,,automatically,. fed one by one from a magazine andlfolded to .form thetubular side wall. struc-- ture. represented .at S in Fig. 21, such sidewall structure being, next inserted into the unfolded tray to form thebox structure represented in r Fig.22. The blanks B are suitably scoredor wallforming blanks B are advanced step by. "stepin a transversedirection to a mechanism which foldsv the, blanks into the tubularsideweakened transversely. along the lines on which they are to bevfolded into said tubular form.

.As shown in Fig..1-6,the trays are advanced step-by stepin a sidewisedirection and the side wall structure S which is then inserted into anopened tray positioned above the. side wall structure. l

The collapsed trays are deposited in a magazine which comprisesupstanding angle memo c lower end with an L-shaped member which:

has a lower horizontal leg extending inwardly under the lower end ofsuch rear wall so as to form supporting ledges 6-6 for the collapsed?trays. The front portions ofthe collapsed: trays in the magazine aresupported. by horizontal. rods; ?1 which extend lengthwise of themachine under the end portions of the collapsed trays, such rods beingsuitably anchored as indicated at 8 and 9 (Fig. 5) to stationary frameportions of the machine.

'B'y inspection of Fig.1 1;. it. will be seenthat the framework on themachinelcomprises amain; or base frame It which may be' -formedr of?one:

or more castings, and a-supplementary or: upper frame I suitablyvsupported from the base frame by posts such as indicated atv l2; 'The'=upper: frame H is here shown as beingzformed'of-anglev iron.

Channel shaped guides l3 are mounted; on the opposite sides ofthetopframe Hi (see Fig; 2), and slides Mi'4 of angle form each have: oneleg slidably disposed in the guidewaysprozvided by the respective guides|3-- |3i The slides Mii* are interconnected by'aaplurality of transversemembers so that they: are movable as a unit, such transverse connectingmembers being shown at l and It in Figs. 2; 3, Sand 17. This slidestructure is reciprocated according'to a predetermined timing by meansof'acam: H which acts through a pitman [8; a bell: crank I9 and alink 20(seeiFi'g. 1). Said bell crank i9 is connected by the link 23 to oneside of' the slide structure which is providedwith-a depending attachinglug 2-! for that purpose; in-- sure smooth operation both sides of theslide are simultaneously driven, a link 21w and rock arm lSa. 'being'provided for driving theotherside, The rock arm I910; isrigidly'connected to the bell crank !9' by being mounted on shaft 22which carries said belllcrank. The shaft 22= is, of. course, suitablyjournall'edin the main;

frame structure.

As representedin Fig: 5, the' forward side wall portion 2 of thelowermost tray in the magszine will normall spring downwardly from thebottom wall I. of said tray to the extentpermitted by the guiderods 1:.Such partial" opening of the side wall occurs as; an incident to theinherent resiliency of, the paper board of which the tray is made, suchresiliencyhaving a nor mal tendency to cause the tray. to unfold itself.

The lowermost. tray in the magazine is fed sidewise out of the magazineby means of a feed plate 23 which is fixedly secured'to' the transversemember l6. of the reciprocating slide: Saidfeed plate 23hasan upwardlyinclinedend portion 24 to insure entrance thereofin thespa'ce betweenthe partially unfolded sidewall 2 and thebottom wall I, of the lowermosttraywhen the feeding slide is. advanced. The: front" wall of each. ofthe receptacle forming, members 4 is upwardly recessed as indicated at;25 (see i1)v to permit said lowermost trayito' move? forwardly undersaid recessed wall; A pair of fingers 26' carried by a rod 21, which is.suitably journalled on the tray receptacleserves to yieldably resistsuch feeding of the tray;, said rod and fingers being appropriatelybiased by spring means, represented at 28 stretched betweenapinextending from afixed partof. the machine and. an arm 29 whichdepends fromone. end' of the rod 21.

When the reciprocating feed. structure is-: ad,-- Vanced from itsretracted position.- as showniin.

Figs; 1, 3,5 and 17 to its fully advanced position, the end portion 24'of the feed plate 23 will enter between the side wall portion 2 andbottom wall 9 of the lowermost tray in the magazine: and. will therebybe effective to feed such tray sidewise out of the magazine. Suchfeeding of the tray. is continued until it reaches the positionindicated at T4 in Fig. 5, the tray being supported near its ends by theguide rods 1* and prevented from rising therefrom by means of overlyingguide plates 3333 which extend lengthwise over" the path of travel ofthe trays. Said guide plates Bit-30 are mounted inv normallyfixedposition by means ofjears or lugs, 3-! (Fig; 3) which extendoutwardly'from the guide plates into overlying: relation to a' portionofthe upper frame member H to' which said earsare suitably secured as bymeans of bolts. The bolts may pass through slots: provided in' the ears'3! so. as to permit a desirable amount of transverse adjustment'of' theguideplates.

At the receivingv station. T4; the guideplates: 3D are provided withrecesses intheir. lower'edgessodisposed as to formzforwardlyfacingtshoulders 32 which are adapted to engage the rear edge of thetrayto prevent the samefrom following the feeder plate rearwardly whenthe same is returned to its starting position. The-guide-rodsl" are-alsoprovided with upwardly projected enlargements orcam portions 33 whichact on the trays to force theminto-thesaid-shoulder forming recess.Spring biased pivoted fingers 3 l are provided for yieldingly holdingthe trays against said should'ers32 so as to definitely position-thetrays for a purpose which will presently appear. The guide plates 35'may also be connected to each other and held in the desiredspacedrelationby tubular transverse member 35 whi'oh has its end slottedto embrace the respective guide plates as bestshown: in Fig; 3. Thesaid'tubular spacer or'strut may be welded to the guide-plates ifdesired.

When the. feeding plate 23 advances to feed the lowermost tray to theposition T-2, the trays in the magazine are: supported by means of asupporting plate 3.5" which has its leading end portion raised so thatit will just fit under the rear edge portionsof' the lowermost trayremaining in the magazine when the tray engaged by the feeder 23 isabout to leave the magazine; To insure entrance of'said supportingmember 36 under the trays in the magazine, its front end is, of course,rounded as illustrated in Fig. 5 so that if. necessary the traysv can becammed upwardly to permit the supporting plate to. enter under the stackof trays. Said supportingplate 36 is inclined downwardly and rearwardlyto a junction witha. plate 31 which overlies and connects the transversemembers l5 and I6 of. the feeding. structure asbestshow-n inFigs. 5 andl'l,

said. plate 31: is, of course, rigidly secured to said transversemembers [5 and I6.

In: the normal'operationof themachine, when the feeding structureadvances, a feeding plate 38 of: vertically yieldable constructionandhaving an upwardly'inclined front end portion enters between thebottom wall. L and the side wall 2 I of the tray in the T-Z' position.to advance said tray to a third position indicated'at T3' (Fig. 5)

The pivoted fingers 34 are, of course, readily disglue bonds which mayexist.

to enter between the bottom wall I and front wall 2 of the tray toengage and advance the same. Spring biased fingers such as indicated at43 are provided for normally holding trays in the position T-3, suchfingers being readily displaced by the advancing tray and beingautomatically returned to their operative positions when the tray haspassed the fingers so as to release them. Feeding finger 42 isrepresented in its most advanced position in Fig. 9.

When the feeding plate structure is in its. most advanced position, thetray located in the position T-2 is subjected to an operation forbreaking any glue joints which may possibly exist between the rear sidewall-2 of the tray and the top wall In the fabrication of the trays glueis employed for uniting end wall tabs to the side walls and it is foundthat it often happens that a small amount of the adhesive will besqueezed from between united parts and will cause a light bond to beformed directly between the respective side walls and the bottom wall ofthe tray. Such glue bonds between the forward side wall and the bottomwall are readily broken by the entrance of the feeding plate 23 into thetray as already explained. For similarly breaking any such glue bondsbetween the rear side wall 2 and the bottom wall of the tray there areprovided a pair of bond breakers 44--44 which are carried by a shaft 45suitably journalled in supporting brackets which depend from the upperframe H of the machine as best illustrated in Fig.1. .Said shaft 45 isrocked by means of a cam 46 acting through a rod 41 which is pivoted atits upper end to an arm 48 which extends from said shaft 45. While thefeeding structure is in its most advanced position, bond breakers 44 -44are rocked upwardly to the'position illustrated in Fig. 11 to cause itsrearwardly projecting portion to enter between the bottom wall I and therear side wall portion 2 to break any By reference to Fig.17, it will beseen that said bond breakers 44 may rock upwardly past the feeder plate38 and a bottom extension plate 49. The bond breakers 44 are returnedalmost immediately, and in any event before the wider feeder plate 42 isretracted to such a point that it would'interfere withthe returnmovement of said bond breakers. The cam 46 which guides the bondbreakers is, of course, suitably formed to operate the bond breakers inthe required timed relationship to the reciprocating movement of thetray feeding mechanism. 1 j Each box is subjected to a preliminaryopening operation when it is in the station designated T-3. Suchpreliminary opening operationis effected by moving the tray upwardlybetween a pair of cam-like surfaces which press the outwardly folded endwalls downwardly towards normal end Wall forming position, such foldingof the end Walls serving to automatically effect at least partialopening of the side walls to thereby more or less soften the hingeconnections between the walls and bottoms of the trays to facilitatetheir complete opening in the station represented at l -4.

Iii

For effecting the preliminary opening opera-- tion, the side guides areprovided with inclined cam portions formed integrally with or rigidlyconnected to the guides, said cam portions being recessed outwardlysomewhat from the general plane of said guides as best shown in Figs. 3and 10. 'The initial position of a tray in the-station T-3 withreference to said cam element 5|] is shown in Fig. 12 from which it canbe seen that the end portions of the tray are located under said camportions 50 and over the said guide rods 1.

For moving the tray upwardly in the position T-3 there is provided atransverse lifter bar 5| which is secured to the lower ends of a pair ofvertically disposed posts 5252 which are verticallyslidably mounted insuitable bearings 5353 securedto the sides of the upper frame structureH. The posts 52 project upwardly beyond said bearings53 and have securedthereto blocks 54 from which pins extend laterally outwardly asindicated at 55. A transverse shaft 56 (Figs. 1 and 3)" is journalled atits end insuitable bearing brackets extending upwardly from the sides ofthe upper frame II and at its ends said shaft is equipped with arms orlevers 5'! which rock with the shaft and are provided with slotted freeends embracing said pins 55 so that upon rocking of the shaft 56 and arm51 said posts 52 and the lifter bar 5| will be elevated. Rocking motionis imparted to the shaft 56 by means of a cam 58 which acts through alink or rod 59 and an arm 66 which is secured at one end to said shaft56. 1

The lifter bar 5| has secured to it suitable angle plates 6|6|, endportions of which project upwardly centrally of the tray in the positionT-3. The upper ends of saidupwardly projecting end portions areoperative to enter between'the adjacent'edges of the side walls2'.2 andto engage the inside of the bottom wall I. Said lifter angles 6|initially raise the tray into engagement with a presser plate 62 whichis'carried by the lower end of a rod 63 vertically slidably mounted in asuitable bearing block 64 which is carried by a frame supported bracket65. The rod 63 extends upwardly beyond said bearing block 64 and has acollar 66 pinned to'its upper end to limit downward movement of said rodand presser plate. A compression spring 61 disposed about said rod 63and between the lower end of said bearing block 64 and a portion of thepresserplate serves to yieldably hold the presser plate in its lowermostposition as determined by the said collar .66. When the lifter members6| are moved upwalls 2-2 with the underlying guide bars I or feed'p1ate42. Thus, the tray is given a prelivrriin'aryworking 'or flexingoperation which softens its fold lines thereby facilitating the nextoperation in which the side and end walls are fully opened and a sidewall structure inserted.

From the station T-3 the collapsed tray is advanced by the said feederplate 42 over the guide rods '1' and over extension fingers 68-68 whichare-welded or otherwise rigidly secured to adjacent end portions of saidguide rods. During such; movementiof' the:trays,= they are held downOnathfixgllideTOdS: by means of'the overlying portions of the guideplates: 30,. free -endzportions- 58: of which are oifset' outwardly as'best shown in: Fig, 10. to overlie= only the foldable end wall portionsof. the collapsed trays instead of: the main.- bottom portions thereof.Forward movement of the trays. from the position T-3. to the position.T- lis limited by engagement of the leading edges of the trayswithjhook-like elements l-lll (Figs. 3; 6 and 9) which are carried bythe outermost of a pair of tray receiving andopeningjdevices l l-l1'I'hetray receiving and opening devices H comprise ang-ula-rly relatedtop and funnel plate porticnsi2- andl'l3", respectively, andsaid devicesare pivotally mounted; at the lower edges of their funnelplate portions13 by being attachedto a square rod "it: whichhas its oppositeends'suitably journalled in depending legs T515" of brackets it: whichdepend-from the upper framestructure l I.

Theopening devices ii are of a length just slightly'less thantheinteriorlength of the tray to-bte'op-ened thereby so'thatthe parts 12 and '53may enter the-tray in the-process of opening the same. (see Fig. 6). Forinitially receiving the tray; theplate portionslzare providedwithupstanding edgeflanges IT and inturned flanges l8 which form ledges toreceive marginal side portions of the folded blank:as illustrated indotted lines: in Fig. 9;. The blank: illustrated in dottedlines-restson, the ledges 'l'8l8 and is dropped to that position bygravity from the position illustrated infull linesin Fig; 9 to. whichitis initially delivered by-theefeeding plate. 42. When the feedingplate5-2 retracts, the'tray is'held against return movement by means ofdepending lugs or ears:l-9, formed on the outwardly offsetextremitiesfill of theguidet plates 30 (see Figs. 5, 9-and 1(5):. Saidllugs 79 are so located that they will engage the rearward edges oftherefolded end wall portions'oi thetray. As soon as the feeding plate :12is sufiiciently withdrawn or retracted.

the tray. will drop down to the dotted line positionillustrated in Fig.9'. a

Opening of thetray to receive the side wall structuresis effectedaspartof the operation of inserting-the-said side wall structure; Beforeexplaining the insertion of the side wall structure into theopenedrtray, thermechanism for delivering the side wall forming blanksand'forming' them into tubular structures. will beexplai'ned.

Themechanismfor delivering and forming the side-wall structures is shownmainly in Figs. 4, 6; '7. and ;8 of the drawings.

Side wall blanks B are initially stacked in a magazine comprising a:pair of upstanding channel-shaped members 888fl suitably supportedthrough the agency of brackets mounted on a partof themain-framestructure It]; The lowermost; blank rests on a normallystationary'bottom plate Bl which is suitably supported from said framestructure l0 and'thefront and rear flange portions of said channels86-430 terminate short of the top surface of said bottom plate 8!, a.distance just slightly more than the thickness of theblanks B- (see Fig.7)

The blanks B are ejected one by one from the bottom of the magazine bymeans of reciprocating ejector plate 82 which is slidably supported atits ends on rearwardextensions 83 of said bottom plate 8!, andsaidejector plate is attached to a bracket. 84 which iscarried by ahorizontally, slidablymountedplate 85..

The: plate ilE is' provided: with pairs of bearing.-

bosses 88 on each side whicharaslidably mountedon. normally stationaryhorizontally disposed shafts or rods ill-3i. Therods 81'are'supportedattheir ends in suitably rigid frame parts asbest'shcw-n-inFig. 7.

'If-he-r plate 85 isprovidedwith a depending ear or lugv 88 towhich alever 39 has its upper'end pivoted; the lower end of the leverbeing-pivotallyi mounted asshown at 96- on a stationary frame partprovided for that purpose: The lever" 89is-rocked by means of a cam 9t:which is suitably connectecl to said lever, the cambeing fixedtot-acamshaft 92 which is suitably:journalled in bearings carried byt-he-frame'structure as-illustratedin Fig. 8. driven; in. thisinstanceby means of aconnection to a main driving electric motor 93 whichactuatesthe'machine;

The motor Qdis operative-through achaindrive S S-to drive a cam shaft 95(Fig; 1 which carries the'cams ll, 35: and 58, previously referred to.Saidcam shaft fifi is provided with asprocket for cooperating a chain"95 which acts on anothersprocket' mounted on another cam shaft- G l(see-Figs. 1- and.2-) which is suitably jour' nailedinbearingssupportedfrom the-mainframe structure it. Saidcam shaft 9:1 isprovided with abevel gear 98 at one endwhich meshes with a bevel gear98' carried by said cam" shaft 92' (see Fig. e)

The iii acting on the-lever89 will eifect reciprocation of the side-wallblank ejecting plate' 32. so that upon each forward reciprocation ofthe=said plate,- the lowermost-blankin-themagae zine 8Swill'be'ejectedfrom saidmagazine. blank ejected willbe-depositedflat-wise on nor"- mally stationary guide or supportingrails. H30 and between upstanding side guides; M mi: (Figs. 4 and 8)-.step-by step by means of. a pairofintermittently actuated conveyorchains lo -m2 which are supported for-such movement bymeans'ofsprocketslt3-mounted on frontand rearshaft" ifi and I055; The shaft Hi5" maybe'journalled: in suitable' bearing brackets 5% carried bythe main framestructure; and theshaft H34 may be similarly'mountedfor rotation but itis extended'endwiseas is'shown in'Fig. 4- ior. receiving driving ratchetmechanism best shown in Figs. 4 and 6-.

The said ratchet mechanism comprised a ratchet'wheel: it? mountedsecurely on the shaft I M. a cross arm i'hrockably mounted on said shaftifi ialong sidesaid ratchet 07; a pawl [09 pivoted. on one end of saidarm I08 for engaging the teeth of' saidratchetand acam'actuatedpitman-rod Hi3 which is'pivoted to the other end cf-said ratchetarm N18; The pitman i It] has its-cam actuated end slotted as best shownin Fig. 6 to slidably fit on the shaft 92- and it is provided with. aroller H-l which engages in a cam slot H2 of a cam disc i l3 carried: bysaid flights or abutments H4 which engage'the'rear' 'I'he cam shaft 92issuitably The.

The blanks are then propelled edges of the blanks B deposited on saidguide bars IOI so as to advance the said blanks step, by step inconformity with thedrive of said chains.

' The upper reaches of the chains I02 are partially supported by meansof ears II5 (Fig. 8) which project laterally from the chains and ride onthe top surfaces of the inner chain guide bars II6--I I6. Said chainguide bars II6 are preferably formed with more or less upwardly archedupper surfaces so as to elevate the central portions of the upperreaches of the chains slightly above the normal plane of the reacheswhich.

would be determined by the upper edge portions of the supportingsprockets. By thus causing the upper chain reaches to travel through anupwardly convexed path, more effective driving engagement is maintainedbetween the abutments I I4 and the blanks propelled thereby.

Durin the travel of the blanks B as effected by the chains I 02, theblanks are held down first by a pair of spring arms I I! which arecarried by a transverse bar IIB fixedly mounted on the under side of astationary frame or table plate I I9. Said table plate H9 is a part of abracketlike element having legs I which extend upwardly and are securedto the upper frame structure II as best shown in Fig. 2. Said springmembers II! are relatively short as best shown in Fig. '7 and act on theblank only during the initial portion of its movement by the conveyorchains. Outwardly of said spring devices III, the blanks are held downby means of elongated shoes I2l (Fig. 8) which are suspended on posts I22 from end portions of the aforesaid cross member H8 and a similarcross, member I23 which is also suspend-ed from said table plate I I9.Light coil springs I24 coiled about said posts I22 serve to yieldablyhold the shoes I2I down to the extent permitted by the nuts applied tothe upper ends of said posts for engaging the end portions of thesupporting cross members.

As best shown in Fig. 4, the holding devices I I! and I22 are disposedon opposite sides of the respective conveyor chains I02 so as to holdthe blanks down relative to said chains on both sides thereof. Thecentral portions of the blanks are subjectedto the hold down effect ofan elongated centrally disposed spring blade I25 which is secured at itsrear or outer end to the transverse member IIBIas best shown in Fig. 7.At its front or inner end, the said spring blade I25 is form-ed with anupwardly and forwardly curved hornlike element I26 for a purpose whichwill presently appear.

The blank is delivered from the ends of the supporting bars I00 intooverlying relation to a plate I21 which is pivoted as indicated at I28betweenrthe ends of a pair of stationary frame supported bars I 29---I29.

The pivoted plate I2! is rocked so as to turn the blank B about itsforward or leading edge, from its. horizontal position as illustrated infull lines in Fig 7 to a vertical position as illustrated in dottedlines in said figure, the blank being then disposed against apair ofupright posts I30 (see Figs. 4, 6, '7 and 16 The plate I2] is rocked inproperly timed relation to the movements of other parts of the mechanismby means of a cam I56 carried by the cam shaft 92. Said cam 92 actsagainst a roller carried by one end of an arm I51 which is pivotedintermediate its ends as indicated at I58 on a bracket carried by themain frame structure. The other end of. said arm I 51 is connected bymeans of alink I59 to the lower endof a rod For effecting folding of theblanks B around the posts I30 there is provided a'folder fork I3I whichis provided at the free ends of its forked arms with a pair of dependingrolls I32I32. Said rolls I32 are spaced from each other a dis tancewhich exceeds the spacing of the opposite outer sides of the posts I30by about twice the thickness of the said wall forming blank B so thatwhen said forked folder with its rolls I32 is moved endwise across theposts I30, said rolls I32 will be operative to fold the blank B aroundsaid posts (see Fig. 16).

The folder fork I3I, in its retracted position,

is located in a recess I33 provided in the plate part II9 (Figs. 4 and'7) and it has secured to it a rack bar I34, the latter having an endportion Welded or otherwise united to saidfork I3I as indicated at I35.The rack bar I34 is slidably mounted in a suitable guide channel I36which is fixedly secured to said plate member I I9. The said rack barand the folding structure are reciprocated by means of a gear I31 whichmeshes with the teeth of the rack bar I34 and is suitably oscillated toeffect the desired reciprocation of said folder.

The gear I31 is secured to a shaft I38 which is suitably journalled inbearings such as represented at I39 mounted on they main frame I0. Oneend of said shaft I38 is provided with a small gear I40 which mesheswitha rack bar I4I held in cooperative relation to-said gear ,by meansof a guiding shoe I42 which is pivotally supported on said shaft I38.The rack bar MI is carried by a bar I43 which has its lower end forkedand straddling the cam shaft 92, (see Fig. 6). Said bar I43 is providedwith a roller I44 which engages the groove of a rotating cam I45 whichis formed to effect the desired reciprocation of the bar I43 and itsrack HII.

In addition to the posts I30 there is provided a second pair of postsI46I46 (see. Figs. 2, 6 and 16) which, together with the posts I30,define the inside corners of the side wall tube or sleeve S. After theblank B is folded around the posts I30, an end portion I41 of the blankis folded around the adjacent post I46 so as to extend across to theother post I46 and to meet the other end of the blank as will be readilyapparent from an inspection of Fig. 16. Such folding of the blank endportion I46 is effected by an oscillating folder I48 carried by the freeend of an arm I49 which is secured to avertically disposed rock shaftI50.

The rock shaft I50 is suitably journalled in bearings provided in themain frame I0 (see Fig. 1) and it is rocked by means of a cam I5I whichacts on a roller I52 carried by a bar I53. The bar I53 has one endforked to straddle the cam shaft and its other end slidably mounted in asuitable bearing bracket carried by the main frame I0 so that the barmay reciprocateunder the action of its'cam I 5I. The bar I53 isconnected by means of a link I54 to the free end of an arm I55 which issecured to said shaft I50 so 'ture.

31 that reciprocation of saidbar I53 will'be translated into rockingmotion of the shaft I59 and said end folder M8.

During the folding of the blank .B about the posts I36, it is centrallysupported by resting on the end portions of said frame bars 29 and nearits ends by means of inwardly arched side bars I63I63 which terminateshort of the corner posts I46 (see Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 6).

After the blank B has been folded into .the tubular side wall structureS, it is moved upwardly along the corner posts H9 and I46 and betweenthe trayopening devices 1 I'II and into theoverlying tray T which willbe opened as an incident to the operation. The tubular side wallstructure is moved upwardly by means of an elevator or lifter plate 464which is secured to the upper end of a vertically slidable H-shapedframe I65 (see Figs. 2 and 6). Said frame I65 has sidebars .i66-I66which are verticallyslidably mounted in suitable vertically spacedguides I61 and I68 which are carried by stationary bars I69IB9 suitablysecured at their upper ends to the main frame structure Iii and rigidlysupported at their lower ends by means of brace bars 'I'IIlil9 whichrigidly connect said bars forked ear portion I 75 which is formedintegrally with or otherwise rigidly secured to a portion of said frameI 65.

The lifter'plate I64 is normally disposed below the level of the blanksupporting arms I63-and it may advantageously be provided with upwardlyextending ears I16 whereneeded to prevent lateral displacement of theside wall tube 'from-said lifter plate after the tube is freed from theposts I and I46.

By reference' to Fig.9, it will be seen-that when the side wall tube Siselevated, its upper end will comeinto engagement with the walls 13 ofthe tray opening devices II. Said wallsl3 are rocked outwardly inproperly timed relation to the upward movement-or" the bodytu-beS soasto permit free movement of the body tube while at the same time guidingthe same into the overlying .tray T.

The required opening movement of the-guiding or funnel formingplates I3iseffectedby properly timed cam mechanism shown in Fig. .15. :Said cammechanism comprises a suitable .box cam I'll carriedby thecam shaft9'I,said'cam acting on-a roller carriedby one end of 'allever .lilB which ispivoted at its other end as indicated at Il'9 on abracket carried'by1themain frame of the apparatus. A spring I80 stretched between a:portion of the arm I18, and a portion'of the frame bracket I10 serve tourge the lever to rock-in one direction so as to maintain itscamengaging roller in engagement with the cam Ig'I'l.

The arm I18 is suitably connected by meansof a transverse pin indicatedat I-SI to a :bar I82 which is vertically. slidably mounted in asuitableguide I83 which depends fromand is rigidly .secured to a portion of themainframe -Ill. .The guide I 82 may be of channel-shape form and the barI82 may be retained therein by means of tally spaced rods I99 and I9I."I QI are slidably mounted in suitable bearings formed in the aforesaidbracket legs 15l5, and

a cover plates such as indicated at wit-43 i which are suitably securedto the side portions of the guide member. The upper end of thevertically .slidably mounted rod I82is provided With a transverse pinI85 which extends laterally from the rod and into the forked ends of apair of arms I8.6.I86 which are secured to end extensions of the pivotedrods IA .of the said tray opening devices 'II'H.

Downward vertical movement of the rod I82 ('Fig. 15) will operatethrough its cross pin I85 .and the arms I85I85 to rock the'shafts orpivot rods -'M-I4 in opposite directions so as to close said trayopening devices 'I-I-l'I from the position illustrated in Fig. .15 tothe position illustrated in Fig. 9. Such movement is effected by theaction of the spring I89 and reverse movement, 1. e. opening of the trayopening devices II-II is effected by the action of the cam Ill.

The opening movement of the tray opening devices 'IITI is effected inpredetermined timed relation tothe-upward movement imparted to thetubular side wall structure so that as the latter m-oves upwardlybetween the guide plate portions 'I3.'I3, said plates will open up orspread apart at their upper edges to permit the tubular wall structureto move between them. In the course .of suchopening movement, the upperedge portionsof said .funnel forming guide plates ES-I3, and theadjacent or inner edge portions of the plates l2l2 enter between theopposite side wall portions of the tray and unfold the same from thecollapsed condition illustrated in Fig, 9 to a fully opened position inwhich the tubular side wall structure may enter the tray.

.Such opening of the tray is further assisted if not mainly effected bymeans which press the opposite end portions of the collapsed trayinwardly toward each other at about the same time that the tray openingdevices 'I'I"H are being opened. The end wall pressing means is bestshown in 'Figsj3 and 6 and it comprises oppositely disposed presserelements IS'I-I'BI having shank :portions I68 extending horizontallyoutwardly therefrom and outer mounting portions 39-199 "which extendboth downwardly and laterallyfrom said shanks to facilitate mounting ofthe pressermembers respectively on horizon- The rods I99 and meansare-provided for reciprocating said rods or shafts simultaneously inopposite directions.

The means for reciprocating the shafts I99 and I9I in oppositedirections comprises a cam I92 mounted on said cam shaft 91 which camacts against a roller carried by a longitudinally slidably mounted rodI93. As best shown in Fig. 1, said rod I 93 is slidably mounted asaforesaid by having one end thereof forked and straddling said camshaft91 and its other end slidably mounted in a suitable bearing carried bythe main frame structure. The cam I92 may be a box cam so as topositively effect movement of the rod I93 in both directions. The rodI93 is connected by means of an arm I94 to the lower end of a shaft I95which is rotatably mounted ina suitable bearing structure carried by themain frame I9, and at its upper end said shaft has mounted on it a crossarm I96. The opposite ends of said-cross arm I96 are connected by linksI 9'! and I 98 to the adjacent ends of the transverse shafts I and I9I.It will be seen that incident to the cam effected reciprocation of therod I93, the shaft I will be rocked'and the transverse shafts I90 andI9I reciprocated simultaneously in opposite directions by the describedlinkage. Accordingly, the pressenmember I87 carried by the shaft |90will be moved inwardly at the same time that the other presser memberl8! carried by the shaft |9| is moved inwardly.

Lower portions |99 of the said presser members I87 initially engage theend points of the folded tray to apply the desired unfolding pressurethereto and said lower portions l9] are preferably of V-shapedtransversecross section so as to fit the pointed ends of the collapsed tray and tohold the same in proper position. The arrangement is such that thebottom wall I of the tray is moved upwardly as an incident to theopening of the tray, this following from the fact that the tray issupported against downward movement by the side wall opening members|-'|l As the bottom wall of the tray moves upwardly, its end wallsgradually approach the normal opened flattened condition. To properlyact against the flattened end wall portions, the said before the sidesare permitted to move upwardly out of the control of the tray openingdevices.

To this end, there is provided an upper holding or control plate 20L Theholding plate 20| is carried by a vertically slidably mounted shaft 202,the latter being slidably mounted in a suitable bracket structure 203which is supported from the upper frame (see "Figs. and 6).

The holding plate 20| is held against rotation by means of an upwardlyextending pin 20d which is slidable through said 'frame bracket 203.downwardly to engage the bottom panel I of the collapsed tray almostimmediately after the tray The plate 20| is moved reaches the dottedline position thereof shown in Fig. 9 so that the succeeding upwardmovement of the tray bot'tompanel is under the control of said holdingplate 20L Upward movement of the latter is controlled and actuated inproper synchronism with the upward movement of the side wall tubestructure S by cam means shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5. As there shown,said shaft 202 is provided with a cross pin which enters a slot providedin the free end of an arm 205 which is journalled at its other end on ashaft 206 so as to be rockable thereon. Said shaft 206 is suitablyjournalled in bearings represented at 201 and 208 which are carried bystationary frame or bracket members. The shaft 206 also has secured toit an arm 209 which is pivotally connected at its free end to the upperend of a pitman rod 2|0, the lower end of which is forked and straddlesthe cam shaft 9! so as to be guided thereby. Said pitman rod 2|0 isprovided with a cam followingroller 2|| which cooperates with a suitablebox cam 2|2 carried by the cam shaft 01 and appropriately formed to rockthe shaft 206 in the desired timed relation ship to the other operatingparts.

Rocking motion is transmitted from the shaft U-shaped bracket 2 ll'which is rigidly secured to the arm 205 in such a manner that its legs2 0-2 [5 embrace the arm 2 I3. Screws 2|62|6 are threaded through thearms 2| 5 of the bracket :so as to engage the opposite sides of the arm2|3 so that rocking movement of the latter will be transmitted directlyto the arm 205 and thence to the vertically slidable shaft 202 and itsholding plate 20 By adjusting the screws 2 6, the oper- .ating positionof the holding plate 20| may be adjusted.

- The holding plate 20| is so controlled that it prevents the tray'fromslipping off the tray opening devices 1||| before the upper edge portionof the tubular wall structure has been entered into the tray. Once theside wall structurehas been started into the tray, the side wallstructure and the tray may continue their movement up- .wardly withlittle .or no guidance from the tray opening devices it being observed,however, that the sidewall tube will be moved upwardly at a speedsufiiciently greater than the speed of upward movement permitted thetray, toinsure full insertion of the side wall tube into the tray by thetime the latter reaches its uppermost position represented in theposition T-4 in Fig. 5. The tray opening or side wall tube guides areprovided with end flanges 13a. to properly guide the ends and corners ofthe side wall tube into the tray.

The complete box structure represented in the position T-d in Fig. 5 isnext advanced sidewise to areceiving conveyor or chute, such movement ofthe completed box being effected as an incident to the movement of thecollapsed tray feeding mechanism previously described. To permit themovement of the completedbox structure out of the position illustratedin Fig. 4, the lifter plate I04 is lowered to free the box. To preventthe box from following the lifter. plate I64 downwardly, holders 2|12|'|(Figs. 6 and 9) are provided, said holders being pivotally supported attheir upper ends as shown at 2 l8 from the frame supported bracket 203.Each of said holders 2|! has an outwardly projecting arm 2|9 from theouter end. of which a bolt 220 extends upwardly. The bolts 220 are afree sliding fit through openings provided in the bracket 203 and nutsprovided on the upper ends of said bolts serve to limit the extent towhich the said bolts may move downwardly and thereby the extent towhich'the box holders 2|'| may move inwardly to press on the ends of thebox. Compression springs 22| are provided around the bolts 220 andbetween the ends of the arm 2|9 and the bracket 203 to urge the boxholders 2 H to their innermost position.- The said innermost positionmay be so adjusted that the holders 2|! will bear only lightly on theends of the box. As illustrated, said holders are so formed as to engagethe tubular wall structure S of the box immediately below the free edgesof the side wall portions of the tray.

When the box is supported by the holders 21 it may be-readily movedlaterally from between them to a suitable conveyor or chute hererepresented by bottom bars 222 and side guides 223, the latter havingreceiving end portions 224 so formed as to receive and guide the boxesinto the chute.

Delivery of the boxes from the station represented at T-4 to the chuteis effected by an ejecting plate 225 which has a depending box engagingflange portion 226 (see Figs. 3, 5, 9 and 17). Said ejector plate 226 iscarried by a cross bar 221 which has end portions turned downwardly asindicated at 228, and secured to suitable blocks 7 229 -229 which areslidable in extensions of the Thecoiled tension :springsfi230230 stretchbetween end portions of :thecross bar ZZBandifiXed points of the upperJframe I l serve to yieldinglyhold-the ejector plate 3-225 in itsretractedposition as illustrated in Fig.

;5. The retracted position-of the ejector plate is determinedby-engagement of a portion-of the .sliding structure witha normallystationary stop or other portion of the apparatus. In this in- :stance,rearward or retracting-movement :of the cross bar 227 is limitedbyengagement with the :crossshaftl232 which is suitably journalled inthe :upper frame structure H and carries the fingers 43 which havepreviously been referred to. :.Springs:indicated at 233-233, stretchedbetween stationary pointsof the frame structure and pinslprojectingfromend portions of said shaft 232, normallyturge saidshaftto turn in-one direction to imparttothe-fingers 43 their desiredyieldingly iholding effect, but said shaft is not otherwise movable.l-lenceyitmay be'reliedupon for determining thetretracted position ofthe ejectorplate -22 5.

. Ejectingrmovement of the plate 225 is effected :by :the tray feeding.mechanism. For this purpose :the side members 14-44 -of the said trayfeeding mechanismare provided with bar extension members 234234 and withabutment mem- :bers 235-2135 longitudinally adjustably mounted on saidextension bars 223%. The free ends of rsaid a'butment members 235 areadapted to enzgagexthesli'des 229 which carry the ejector structure toeffect ejecting imovement thereof. The :ejector movement issubstantially less than the step by step'feed'movement of the collapsedtrays,

and the arrangementissuch that said abutments 235 have .freeitravelduring the first portion of the tray feeding movement and come intooperative engagement with saidejector slides so as to effect ejectingmovement thereof onl :for the required portion of the travel of the trayfeeding mechanism. .Hence, the completed boxes are moved from thestation T-ll only slightly more than the transverse width thereofwhereas the .collapsed trays are advanced a distance which approximatesthree times their widths. During the travel-of the trays through themachine they are held against endwise shifting by means oflongitudinally extending side guides 236-436 which are laterallyadjustably mounted on the :upperframe structure H by means of outwardlyextending lugs 23?. -As shown, the lugs 231, like the lugs 31 for theguides 30, are provided with slots through which fastening bolts passfor threadedengagement with the underlying frame element.

Because of the fairly extensive travel of the .tra feeding slidestructure, a cover member 238 (Fig-5) is provided to cover a portion ofthe slide structure. Said cover may be of sheet metal construction andmay rest on the horizontal .flangeportions of the elevated frame I I asshown, audit may be detachably secured inplace in any convenient manner.H

'For reinforcing the feeding slide structure, a longitudinally extendingreinforcing bar 239 (Figs. 2, 5 and 145 is secured to the under sidethereofin the relationship illustrated. Said bar 239 impartsthe desiredrigidity to the structure which might otherwise tend to flex excessivelybecause .of its light weight sheet metal construction. 7 V

In the-apparatus described, the "collapsed trays :may be stacked in themagazine 4 in'the condition in which they -:come from the maker and11:?6 withoutiany preliminaryssoftening :orotheritreatment. The feedingmechanism describediis quite positive in its operation and'serves toeffectively "break an glue bonding which may'ina'dv'ert'ently beproduced between one of th'e'side walls-of the tray and its-bottom wall.Anysuch glue-bonding which may exist between the o'therside wall and"the bottom panel is,-of course, effectively broken by the bondbreaker-s44 which have avery posi- -tive action against the tray sincethe latter is securely held against rearward movement in the guiderecess'3'2. The provision of t'he-spring-held fingers 26, "34 and 43serves, of "course, to insure full entrance of the feeding slide fingersinto the "tray before the tray begins to move out of its startingposition. Hence, the feeding'mechanism is made operative to accuratelyfeed each tray a predetermined distance'so as tc'properly position thetrays in the successive stations as described.

The provision of means for working the tray, thatis to preliminarilyopen the tray and then recloseit forfeeding to the final opening-andside wallinserting station is an especially advantageous part-of thedescribed mechanism :in that it greatly facilitates the functioning oftheifinal'tray opening devices H-H :andxthe insertion :of the tubularside wall structuresinto theopenedtray.

The handling .of the-side wall "forming blan'ks .and:accurat'e feedingthereof to'the folding mechanism is-also very-positively effected by the"described ejecting, conveying and "foldingmech'a nism. 'The foldingmechanism although of very simple form operates very efficiently andrequires aminimumamount of travel of the folding mechanism whereby theattainment of simplicity is facilitated.

The mechanism described is operative at a very Jhigh rate of speed andwith a minimum amount of supervision or attention. Various changes inthe details described may be .made while retaining the principles of theinvention.

I claim:

1. .In box making apparatus of the class described, the combination ofmeans for supporting a supply of collapsed trays in inverted position,vreciproca'ble meansembodying a plurality of tray engagingelementsadapted to successively engage the trays to advance them step by stepalong a predetermined path of travel, one of said tray engaging elementsbeing adapted to enter between rlativelyfolded portions of the lowermosttray in said supply to thereby effect an initial opening of said foldedparts and to feed the engagedtray edgewise for a predetermined distance,means for preventing retraction of the tray ad- 'vanced by saidfirst-mentioned element upon retraction of the latter, means forengaging and effecting initial opening of another folded portion ofthetray advancedby said first-mentioned element while such advanced trayis held against retraction, means for acting on the tray in a directiontransversely of the direction of action of said feeding and openingelements 'for effecting -a preliminar -opening of said tray, asecond ofsaid feeding elements being operative to feed the tray from its firstadvanced position "its said preliminary opening means, and means .foreffecting final and complete opening of said :tray preparatory to theinsertion of other material 'thereinto, a third of said feeding elements.being operative to engage and advance the tray from said-preliminary:opening means to said .-final.onening means.

.2. :Apparatus of the class described for dis-

